One of the pictures shows the panel on the dash of a car. How does it regulate the charge on a car battery? Thank you!
16923
Not sure what you mean by "regulates" I have two on the two batteries on my boat. They have both bilge pumps running, so I do not want to drain the batteries, specially when I do not use the boat for a couple of weeks (rain -> water running -> bilge pumps getting it out). If you have nothing draining your battery there's no use to keep them connected.
16924
Not sure about "regulation". I use it as a roof mount on my RV to keep the house batteries charged. I think that the 5 watts is such a low charging rate that there is little fear of an over charged situation. I use a 3 watt on my RV vehicle battery as well; and have used that on the dash board for over two years with no problem. I think it would be the same for the 5 watt. I do however have a 40 watt solar charger that I use when camping and it has a controller (regulator). I think it is too large not to use something to control the charge to prevent over charging. I hope that helps!! Not sure about "regulation". I use it as a roof mount on my RV to keep the house batteries charged. I think that the 5 watts is such a low charging rate that there is little fear of an over charged situation. I use a 3 watt on my RV vehicle battery as well; and have used that on the dash board for over two years with no problem. I think it would be the same for the 5 watt. I do however have a 40 watt solar charger that I use when camping and it has a controller (regulator). I think it is too large not to use something to control the charge to prevent over charging. I... » Read More Not sure about "regulation". I use it as a roof mount on my RV to keep the house batteries charged. I think that the 5 watts is such a low charging rate that there is little fear of an over charged situation. I use a 3 watt on my RV vehicle battery as well; and have used that on the dash board for over two years with no problem. I think it would be the same for the 5 watt. I do however have a 40 watt solar charger that I use when camping and it has a controller (regulator). I think it is too large not to use something to control the charge to prevent over charging. I hope that helps!! « Show Less
16925
Not sure about "regulation". I use it as a roof mount on my RV to keep the house batteries charged. I think that the 5 watts is such a low charging rate that there is little fear of an over charged situation. I use a 3 watt on my RV vehicle battery as well; and have used that on the dash board for over two years with no problem. I think it would be the same for the 5 watt. I do however have a 40 watt solar charger that I use when camping and it has a controller (regulator). I think it is too large not to use something to control the charge to prevent over charging. I hope that helps!!
16926
The solar panel has a cord about 6 feet long with a coupler at the other end. It also has 4 holes in the frame. I cover my car and fasten the solar panel to the outside of the garage. There is a shorter cord with clamps on the one end--I cut these off and replaced with rings which attach to the bolts at the battery posts. This short cord I used a cable tie to secure the loose end. Now when I want to store my car I park it, lift the hood, plug the cords into each other, close the hood, put on the cover and leave it. Exactly how it regulates the flow of electricity is.beyond me, but it works.. The solar panel has a cord about 6 feet long with a coupler at the other end. It also has 4 holes in the frame. I cover my car and fasten the solar panel to the outside of the garage. There is a shorter cord with clamps on the one end--I cut these off and replaced with rings which attach to the bolts at the battery posts. This short cord I used a cable tie to secure the loose end. Now when I want to store my car I park it, lift the hood, plug the cords into each other, close the hood, put on the cover and leave it. Exactly how it regulates the flow of electricity is.beyond me, but it works..
16927
To use the panel on the dashboard, use the short cord provided and plug into the cigarette lighter where you would plug in a cell phone charger or whatnot.
16928
I assume you mean how does it monitor the battery and then charge as needed? It can't overcharge, so you place it and forget it.
2182005
I dont recall any instructions comimg with mine, however, it is very simple. Just plug your usb cable for your device into the panel outlet and expose it to direct sunlight. Same goes for the 12 volt cla outlet, for instance, you can charge your phone with the panel using your car charger. Hope this helps.
1958966
club car has this crazy battery charge system you have to disable it orI just made it like a normal battery charger with cable clamps directlyto the batteries.
1934083
It regulates the voltage and amps from the charger in relation to internal parameters. This keeps it from overcharging and bursting, or catching fire.
2089416
I get dual use from the panel. I place it upon the dashboard to charge various devices and to protect my dashboard from the brutal Arabian sun. I am not an expert (wavelenght measuring) but I have not noticed any depreciation in charging rates between the car roof/hood or on the dashboard below the windshield. In fact, I have used it throughout my vehicle as required to get the most direct sun and the panel performs.
285872
If the panel is small enough in relation to the battery, it is actually better without a charge controller. The controller cuts down the energy flow to a level that won't overload the batteries, but a small panel is too weak to actually be a threat, and it is more likely that the energy is being wasted by cutting it down at all. With more panels, overloading the battery becomes an issue. Then, you need to shorten and fatten all the wire paths, and buy a good charge controller. On a top end charge controller, you can even manually up the voltage output to make up somewhat for what you lose through the wires.
482783
set up properly, this would work to charge any 12v battery. you may want to work in a solar charge controller if you are worried about overvoltage protection and other features that can add safety. one thing this will probably not do is bring a dead car battery back to life, if that is the nature of your question. BTW... I have successfully done this with this very panel, and a small 12v 7ah battery. A few good hours of sun will give you a good recharge trickle, but its not much power (smaller panel). You may want to consider a deep cycle battery if you intend to use the battery over and over after recharges. Hope this helps. set up properly, this would work to charge any 12v battery. you may want to work in a solar charge controller if you are worried about overvoltage protection and other features that can add safety. one thing this will probably not do is bring a dead car battery back to life, if that is the nature of your question. BTW... I have successfully done this with this very panel, and a small 12v 7ah battery. A few good hours of sun will give you a good recharge trickle, but its not much power (smaller panel). You may want to consider a deep cycle battery if you intend to use the battery over and... » Read More set up properly, this would work to charge any 12v battery. you may want to work in a solar charge controller if you are worried about overvoltage protection and other features that can add safety. one thing this will probably not do is bring a dead car battery back to life, if that is the nature of your question. BTW... I have successfully done this with this very panel, and a small 12v 7ah battery. A few good hours of sun will give you a good recharge trickle, but its not much power (smaller panel). You may want to consider a deep cycle battery if you intend to use the battery over and over after recharges. Hope this helps. « Show Less
732337
With a load in the circuit, the panels are supplying the power. If the load exceeds the panel current available then the battery gets into the act and the panel voltage moves up and down. I assume you're running some type of load in the circuit.
340531
Probably- it puts out gobs of power. However, different battery types have different charging profiles- the current supplied needs to change as the battery voltage rises; just ramming electrons in until the battery voltage is where it should be will probably damage the battery. If you use a charger DESIGNED FOR YOUR TYPE OF BATTERY you should be OK. The power supply can supply the juice, but the charger has to control the process and protect the batteries.Even cars have Voltage Regulators to control the charge rate to the battery.Hope this helps.Bill K3DC Probably- it puts out gobs of power. However, different battery types have different charging profiles- the current supplied needs to change as the battery voltage rises; just ramming electrons in until the battery voltage is where it should be will probably damage the battery. If you use a charger DESIGNED FOR YOUR TYPE OF BATTERY you should be OK. The power supply can supply the juice, but the charger has to control the process and protect the batteries.Even cars have Voltage Regulators to control the charge rate to the battery.Hope this helps.Bill K3DC
1678904
I have only used this product for my marine batteries on a per need basis. Not sure about the application you ask about. However, thinking about this, I don't think the panel inside the car is an option. I suppose you could attach the panel from under the car or under the hood, but the panel will have have to be exposed to the elements in some manner.
1784691
You don't need a controller because this unit does not supply enough amps to overcharge a regular sized (car, boat, etc.) battery. If you test the voltage under no load it may scare you because it's too high, but if you apply ohm's law and understand that the current is limited by the capacity of the unit, you'll find that the voltage under load is only a couple of tenths of a volt higher than the battery in its disconnected state.
407396
It is a trickle charger, so you can leave the battery connected to the car. Very low charging, and this product is "smart" in that once it senses the battery is fully charged, it switches to a maintenance mode to protect the car. Disconnecting the battery is not a bad idea, just to be safe....but I'm a little lazy and leave it connected.
2193559
I had some issues charging a battery in car. The instructions say to connect one lead to the frame, but I ended up connecting terminal to terminal which my be a little dangerous. It took about 20-30 mins to get enough charge to start my car.
1796520
You should have at least a basic charge controller to avoid over-charging your battery and possibly damaging it. The panel has built-in diodes to prevent discharging your battery when there's no light on the panel.
729802
This unit is not a "constant charging" design. That is what makes it a cut above the rest. It charges to full charge, and then only senses that battery's charge level. When charging is needed to bring the battery back up to full charge, it turns on again. I have had one on a stored car's battery for almost a year as I have never gotten the engine back together. Another sports car I have may sit for a week or more without it being started. It has a Battery Tender attached to its battery too when that car sits.
225265
12 volt DC. Your typical car battery will power it, as long as it is 12 volts. I have one of these set up at my cabin over a 10' X 10' deck. It is fantastic.
1321447
I believe there is an electrical component between the plugs .. this takes care of the signal the car needs to see to charge properly..